San Jose woman arrested after deputy finds her children inside car at Rohnert Park casino

ROHNERT PARK -- A San Jose woman faces misdemeanor child endangerment charges after she left her two children inside a car with the keys in the ignition while she went into Graton Casino, authorities said.

Maria Yadira Mondragon-Barboza, 37, was booked into Sonoma County Jail on suspicion of misdemeanor child endangerment but has since been released on bail.

According to police, around 11:40 p.m. Monday, a Sonoma County sheriff's deputy was patrolling the third tier of the parking structure at Graton Casino when he saw a 10-year-old girl sitting in the back seat of a Honda.

The girl, left in the car with her sleeping 1-year-old brother and with the car and the radio both turned on, told the deputy her mother had gone into the casino. Authorities said they believe the children were alone for about 20 minutes. They did not say why their mother was there.

Security found Mondragon-Barboza inside the casino at the Starbucks, police said, about 20 minutes later and she was escorted back to her car before she was arrested.

The children, who were not injured, are in the custody of a family member, police added.

Mondragon-Barboza is scheduled to appear in Sonoma County Superior Court on July 22.